JP5646674B2 - Terminal device, character input method, and character input program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal device, a character input method, and a character input program.

  In recent years, for example, smartphones and tablet terminals have become widespread as terminal devices equipped with a touch panel type liquid crystal display. This type of terminal device accepts various operations such as a character input operation from the user by touching the touch panel surface with a finger or the like.

  As a technique related to character input operation on a touch panel, a technique for supporting Japanese input is known. For example, a technique is known in which the effective area of the touch panel is divided into a plurality of Japanese areas around the first touch point, and characters corresponding to the Japanese area designated by the user are used as input characters.

JP 2010-15570 A

  However, the above prior art is not always an input interface with high usability. Specifically, when the above-described conventional technology is used, the user moves his / her finger from a plurality of characters displayed around the first touch point to an effective area (Japanese area) corresponding to a desired character. It needs to be moved accurately. At this time, when a large number of characters such as “A”, “K”, “S”,..., “WA” are displayed, the user displays them on the screen to input desired characters. The character input operation is performed while confirming the characters being displayed. For this reason, the input interface provided by the above-described prior art requires a highly accurate operation from the user, and thus the usability is not always high.

  The present application has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a terminal device, a character input method, and a character input program capable of realizing an input interface with high usability.

  The terminal device according to the present application includes an operation reception unit that receives an operation for designating an arbitrary position from a user, and input candidates that are candidates for characters input by the user around the position received by the operation reception unit. Among the display control means for displaying a plurality and the reception areas for receiving the designation of each input candidate displayed by the display control means, the circumferential width in at least one reception area is the circumferential width in the other reception areas. An area setting unit that sets each reception area to be wider than the width, and when any of the reception areas set by the area setting unit is specified by the user, the specified reception area Input determining means for determining a corresponding input candidate as an input character.

  According to one aspect of the embodiment, there is an effect that an input interface with high usability can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character input process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the terminal device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character input process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a character input processing procedure by the terminal device according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a terminal device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a storage unit according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing performed by the region setting unit according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of conversion candidate characters by a terminal device according to another embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character input process according to another embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a mode for carrying out a terminal device, a character input method, and a character input program according to the present application (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The terminal device, the character input method, and the character input program according to the present application are not limited by this embodiment. In the following embodiments, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(First embodiment)
[1-1. (Character input processing)
First, character input processing according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character input process according to the first embodiment. The character input process according to the first embodiment is performed by the terminal device 100 shown in FIG. The terminal device 100 is a tablet-type terminal, for example, and includes a display unit 110 such as a liquid crystal display. The terminal device 100 employs a touch panel, and accepts various operations by touching the display unit 110 with a finger or the like. The terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment accepts a character input operation from the user by displaying an input interface for inputting characters when an arbitrary position on the display unit 110 is touched. This point will be described with reference to the example shown in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the terminal device 100 is in a state in which an application or the like that accepts character input from a user (here, a memo pad application) is activated. At this time, the terminal device 100 displays a cursor C10 indicating a position where a character is input on the display unit 110.

  In such a state, it is assumed that the terminal device 100 has received an operation for designating an arbitrary position P10 on the display surface (touch panel surface) of the display unit 110 with a finger or the like from the user. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 1B, the terminal device 100 displays each display in which a substantially annular (that is, donut-shaped) region centered on the position P10 designated by the user is divided into 12 parts. A first input candidate that is a candidate for a character input by the user is displayed in the frame. In the example of FIG. 1B, the terminal device 100 has characters “a”, “ka”, “sa”, “ta”, “na” corresponding to the “adan” of the Japanese syllabary in Japanese kana characters. ”,“ Ha ”,“ ma ”,“ ya ”,“ ra ”,“ wa ”, punctuation marks, exclamation marks and question marks“,!? ”, And emoticons“ (^^) ” An annular region is displayed in each display frame divided into 12 equal parts. In this example, the terminal device 100 continues to display the first input candidates shown in FIG. 1B unless the finger is removed from the display surface.

  As will be described in detail later, the terminal device 100 sets reception areas R11 to R14 and R21 to R28 that are areas for receiving an operation for designating the first input candidate from the user for each first input candidate. Then, when any of the reception areas is designated by the user, the terminal device 100 displays new second input candidates narrowed down by the first input candidates corresponding to the designated reception area. For example, in the example of FIG. 1B, the user slides his / her finger from the position P10 (referred to as “swipe”) and the reception area corresponding to the first input candidate “ka” (reception area R21 described later). It is assumed that the position in is specified. In such a case, the terminal device 100, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), “Adan”, “Idan”, “Udan”, “Edan”, “O” in the “ka” line of the Japanese syllabary. Characters “ka”, “ki”, “ku”, “ke”, and “ko” corresponding to “dan” are displayed as second input candidates. In the example of FIG. 1C, the terminal device 100 displays the second input candidate “ka” in a substantially circular display frame centered on the position in the reception area R21 designated by the user, for example. The second input candidates “ki”, “ku”, “ke”, and “ko” are displayed in each display frame in which a substantially annular area centered on the position is divided into four. At this time, the terminal device 100 sets the reception areas R31 to R35 for each of such second input candidates “ka”, “ki”, “ku”, “ke”, and “ko”.

  Then, the terminal device 100, when a reception area corresponding to any of the second input candidates “ka”, “ki”, “ku”, “ke”, “ko” is further designated by a slide operation or the like. The designated input candidate is determined as an input character. Here, it is assumed that the reception area R32 corresponding to the second input candidate “ku” is designated by the user. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 1D, the terminal device 100 determines that the character “ku” has been input, displays the character “ku” at the position of the cursor C10 in FIG. The cursor C10 is moved behind the displayed character “ku”.

  Note that the terminal device 100 includes an acceleration sensor or the like, so that the display direction of various types of information on the display unit 110 can be changed when the terminal device 100 is rotated by the user. The terminal device 100 displays the first input candidates and the second input candidates so as to match the display orientation on the display unit 110. For example, the terminal device 100 performs the first input so that the direction of the first input candidate or the second input candidate matches the direction of the input character (the direction of the input character displayed on the cursor C10 illustrated in FIG. 1). Candidates and second input candidates are displayed.

  In the following embodiments, various directions are defined based on the display direction on the display unit 110 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as “screen display direction”). For example, in the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 1D, the terminal device 100 displays various information such as characters such that the longitudinal direction of the terminal device 100 is the vertical direction. In the case of the example in FIG. 1, the screen display direction corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the terminal device 100. That is, in the example of FIG. 1, the direction perpendicular to the screen display direction corresponds to the short direction of the terminal device 100. The terminal device 100 may be rotated by the user so that the short direction of the terminal device 100 is the screen display direction.

  Here, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment sets the reception areas corresponding to the first input candidates to have different sizes. Specifically, the terminal device 100 has a reception area of the first input candidate displayed in the direction parallel to the screen display direction (up and down direction) or the vertical direction (left and right direction) from the position P10 specified by the user. Each reception area is set so that the reception areas of other first input candidates are larger. This point will be described with reference to the example of FIG. In the case of the example in FIG. 1B, the correspondence relationship between the reception area and the first input candidate is as follows.

Reception area R11 ... 1st input candidate "A"
Reception area R12... First input candidate “ta”
Reception area R13... First input candidate “ma”
Reception area R14... First input candidate “Wa”
Reception area R21 ... 1st input candidate "ka"
Reception area R22... First input candidate “sa”
Reception area R23... First input candidate “NA”
Reception area R24... First input candidate “ha”
Reception area R25 ... 1st input candidate "YA"
Reception area R26... First input candidate “ra”
Reception area R27 ... 1st input candidate ",!?" (Punctuation mark, exclamation point, question mark)
Reception area R28 ... 1st input candidate "(^^)" (emoticon)

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the first input candidates displayed in the direction parallel to the screen display direction (vertical direction) from the position P10 correspond to “A” and “MA”. The first input candidates displayed in the direction perpendicular to the screen display direction (left and right direction) from the position P10 correspond to “ta” and “wa”. In this case, the terminal device 100 determines that the widths in the circumferential direction D1 of the reception areas R11 to R14 corresponding to the first input candidates “a”, “ta”, “ma”, and “wa” are the other first input candidates “ The width in the circumferential direction D1 of the receiving areas R21 to R28 corresponding to “ka”, “sa”, “na”, “ha”, “ya”, “ra”, “,. Each reception area is set so as to be narrower than that.

  In the example of FIG. 1B, the terminal device 100 widens the width in the circumferential direction D1 of the receiving areas R21 to R28 by narrowing the width of both ends in the circumferential direction D1 of the receiving areas R11 to R14. . For example, the terminal device 100 narrows the widths of both ends in the circumferential direction D1 in the reception area R11 of the first input candidate “A” smaller than the widths of both ends in the circumferential direction D1 in the display frame of the first input candidate “A”. Thereby, the terminal device 100 has a circumferential direction D1 between the reception area R21 of the first input candidate “ka” adjacent to the first input candidate “a” and the reception area R28 of the first input candidate “(^^)”. Increase the width of. Similarly, the terminal device 100 increases the widths of the reception areas R22 and R23 by narrowing the width of the reception area R12 of the first input candidate “ta”, and the reception area R13 of the first input candidate “ma”. By narrowing the width, the widths of the receiving areas R24 and R25 are widened, and by narrowing the width of the receiving area R14 of the first input candidate “WA”, the widths of the receiving areas R26 and R27 are widened.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 divides the annular region into 12 equal parts to display the display frames of the first input candidates in the circumferential direction D1 in each display frame. The width and the width in the circumferential direction D1 in the reception area corresponding to each display frame (each first input candidate) are not matched, but the size of each reception area is individually set as in the above example. Thereby, the terminal device 100 can provide an input interface that allows the user to easily specify the first input candidate.

  More specifically, it is generally easy for the user to move his / her finger from the position P10 designated on the display unit 110 in a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the screen display direction. This is because the user can sensuously move his / her finger in the parallel direction or the vertical direction on the display unit 110. That is, in the example of FIG. 1B, the user can easily move his / her finger from the position P10 to the display frame of the first input candidate “A”, “TA”, “MA”, or “WA”.

  On the other hand, it is considered that it is difficult for the user to accurately specify a desired first input candidate by moving a finger in an oblique direction from the position P10. For example, in the example of FIG. 1B, when the user designates the first input candidate “ka”, the user moves his / her finger diagonally from the position P10 to the upper right direction on the display unit 110. At this time, the user needs to move his / her finger diagonally in the upper right direction so as not to designate the first input candidate “sa”. It is difficult for the user to perform such an operation sensuously.

  Therefore, the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment, as described above, the first input candidates (“A”, “TA”, “MA”, which are assumed to be easy for the user to specify sensuously. ”,“ Wa ”), the width in the circumferential direction D1 of the receiving areas R11 to R14 is reduced. Even when the reception areas R11 to R14 are set in this way, the user can sensuously move his / her finger from the position P10 in a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the screen display direction. R14 can be specified accurately.

  In addition, as described above, the terminal device 100 has the first input candidates (“ka”, “sa”, “na”, “ha”, “ha”, which are assumed to be difficult for the user to specify sensuously. The width in the circumferential direction D1 of the receiving areas R21 to R28 corresponding to “ya”, “ra”, “, ...?”, “(^^)”) is increased. Thus, by widening the width in the circumferential direction D1 of the reception areas R21 to R28, the user accurately specifies the desired reception areas R21 to R28 even when moving the finger diagonally from the position P10. be able to.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 enables the designation of the first input candidate by a sensuous operation by adjusting the width in the circumferential direction D1 in each reception area, thereby improving the input accuracy of the user. In addition, it is possible to input characters without causing the user to check the display unit 110. Therefore, the terminal device 100 can provide an input interface with high usability.

  Unlike the example of FIG. 1B, the terminal device 100 displays each second input candidate when displaying the second input candidates as in the example shown in FIG. 1C. You may make the width | variety of the circumferential direction D1 in each display frame and the width | variety of the circumferential direction D1 in reception area | region R32-R35 correspond. In this way, when displaying a predetermined number (for example, four) or less of input candidates around an arbitrary position, the terminal device 100 may match the widths of the display frames and the reception areas. It is possible to provide an input interface that allows the user to easily select each input candidate. Hereinafter, the terminal device 100 that performs such Japanese input processing will be described in detail.

[1-2. Configuration of terminal device]
Next, the terminal device 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment. The terminal device 100 shown in FIG. 2 is an information processing device employing a touch panel, and is, for example, a tablet terminal, a notebook PC (Personal Computer), a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or the like. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal device 100 includes a display unit 110, an input unit 120, and a control unit 130.

  The display unit 110 is a display device for displaying various information. For example, the display unit 110 is realized by a liquid crystal display or the like. The input unit 120 is an input device that accepts various operations from the user. For example, the input unit 120 is realized by a hard key or the like provided on the side wall or the like of the terminal device 100. Since the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment employs a touch panel, the display unit 110 and a part of the input unit 120 are integrated.

  In the control unit 130, for example, a program (corresponding to an example of a character input program) stored in an internal storage device by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or the like is a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like. This is realized by executing the internal memory as a work area.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 130 includes an operation reception unit 131, a display control unit 132, an area setting unit 133, and an input determination unit 134. Information processing functions and operations described below Realize or execute. The internal configuration of the control unit 130 is not limited to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 2, and may be another configuration as long as the information processing described later is performed.

  The operation reception unit 131 receives various operations from the user. The operation reception unit 131 according to the first embodiment corresponds to an operation for designating an arbitrary position on the display unit 110 or a first input candidate by touching the touch panel surface of the display unit 110 with a finger or the like. An operation for designating a reception area, an operation for designating a reception area corresponding to the second input candidate, and the like are received.

  The display control unit 132 controls display of various information on the display unit 110 in accordance with various operations received by the operation receiving unit 131. The display control unit 132 according to the first embodiment is input by the user around the arbitrary position when an operation for specifying an arbitrary position on the display unit 110 is received by the operation receiving unit 131. Controls display of input candidates that are character candidates. Such a display control unit 132 includes a first display control unit 132a and a second display control unit 132b.

  The first display control unit 132a performs display control of the first input candidates around the position received by the operation receiving unit 131. Specifically, as in the example shown in FIG. 1B, the first display control unit 132a displays Japanese in each display frame obtained by dividing an annular area centered on the position specified by the user. The characters corresponding to the Japanese syllabary “a”, “a”, “ka”, “sa”, “ta”, “na”, “ha”, “ma”, “ya”, “ra” ”And“ Wa ”are displayed as the first input candidates. In addition, as in the example shown in FIG. 1B, the first display control unit 132a may include a punctuation mark “,.”, An exclamation mark “!”, A question mark “?”, An emoticon “(^^)”, and the like. May be displayed as the first input candidate.

  When the operation reception unit 131 receives an operation for designating one of the reception areas corresponding to the first input candidates displayed by the first display control unit 132a, the second display control unit 132b The second input candidates narrowed down by the first input candidates are displayed around the designated first input candidates. For example, the second display control unit 132b sets the characters “Adan”, “Idan”, “Udan”, “Edan”, and “Odan” corresponding to the first input candidate designated by the user to the first. Display as 2 input candidates. For example, when the first input candidate “ka” is designated as in the example of FIG. 1, the second display control unit 132b uses the characters “ka” and “ki” of “ka line”. , “Ku”, “ke” and “ko” are controlled.

  When the first input candidate “,!?” Is designated, the second display control unit 132b sets “,”, “.”, “!”, “?”, Etc. as the second input candidates. When the first input candidate “(^^)” is designated, “(^^)”, “(^ 0 ^)”, etc. are displayed as the second input candidates.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment includes the first display control unit 132a and the second display control unit 132b, and allows the user to input characters by specifying input candidates in two stages.

  For each input candidate whose display is controlled by the display control unit 132, the region setting unit 133 sets a reception region that accepts designation of the input candidate. Specifically, the region setting unit 133 sets a reception region corresponding to the input candidate in a region including a part or all of the input candidates. In addition, the area setting unit 133 according to the first embodiment includes other reception areas corresponding to at least one first input candidate among the plurality of first input candidates whose display is controlled by the first display control unit 132a. Each reception area is set to have a different size from the reception area corresponding to the first input candidate.

  For example, as in the example shown in FIG. 1B, the first display control unit 132a causes twelve first input candidates (“A”, “K”, “S”, “ ”,“ NA ”,“ HA ”,“ MA ”,“ YA ”,“ RA ”,“ WA ”,“,!? ”,“ (^^) ”, etc.) are displayed. In such a case, the region setting unit 133 corresponds to input candidates (“A”, “TA”, “MA”, “WA”) displayed from an arbitrary position P10 in a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the screen display direction. The widths in the circumferential direction D1 of the reception areas R11 to R14 are other input candidates (“ka”, “sa”, “na”, “ha”, “ya”, “ra”, “,. Each receiving area is set to be narrower than the width in the circumferential direction D1 of the receiving areas R21 to R28 corresponding to (^^) ").

  The area setting unit 133 also sets reception areas corresponding to a plurality of second input candidates whose display is controlled by the second display control unit 132b. Specifically, the area setting unit 133 displays a predetermined number (for example, 4) or less of second input candidates by the second display control unit 132b, so that the widths of the display frames and the reception areas match. The width in the circumferential direction D1 in each reception area is set to be substantially the same.

  When the reception area set by the area setting unit 133 is specified by the user, the input determination unit 134 determines input candidates corresponding to the specified reception area as input characters.

  Specifically, the input determination unit 134 according to the first embodiment performs an operation of designating any reception area among the reception areas corresponding to the second input candidates displayed by the second display control unit 132b. Is received by the operation receiving unit 131, an input candidate corresponding to the specified receiving area is determined as an input character. Then, the input determination unit 134 outputs the input character determined in this way to the display control unit 132. Accordingly, the display control unit 132 displays the input character determined by the input determination unit 134 on the display unit 110.

  For example, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 1C, it is assumed that the reception area R32 corresponding to the second input candidate “ku” is designated by the user. In such a case, the input determination unit 134 determines the second input candidate “ku” as an input character and outputs the input character “ku” to the display control unit 132. Then, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the display control unit 132 displays the input character “ku” at the position of the cursor C10 and displays the cursor C10 behind the input character “ku”.

[1-3. Other display examples)
In the above, the process by the terminal device 100 was demonstrated using the display mode shown in FIG. Specifically, in FIG. 1, the first display control unit 132a displays 12 display frames obtained by dividing an annular region into 12 parts regardless of the size of the reception region set by the region setting unit 133. An example to do. However, the first display control unit 132a causes the width in the circumferential direction D1 in each display frame in which the first input candidate is displayed to match the width in the circumferential direction D1 in the reception area set by the area setting unit 133. In addition, the first input candidate display process may be performed. This point will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character input process according to the first embodiment.

  The positions and sizes of the reception areas R11 to R14 and R21 to R28 illustrated in FIG. 3 are the same as the example illustrated in FIG. Here, in the example of FIG. 3, the first display control unit 132a has the width in the circumferential direction D1 in the display frame of the first input candidate “A” and the circumference in the reception area R11 corresponding to the first input candidate “A”. A display frame of the first input candidate “A” is displayed so that the width in the direction D1 matches. Similarly, the first display control unit 132a displays the first input candidates “ka”, “sa”, “ta”, “na”, “ha”, “ma”, “ya”, “ra”, “wa”. ”,“,!? ”,“ (^^) ”in the display frame, the width in the circumferential direction D1, and the reception areas R21, R22, R12, R23, R24, R13, R25 corresponding to the first input candidates. Display frames of the respective first input candidates are displayed so that the widths in the circumferential direction D1 in R26, R14, R27, and R28 match.

  In this way, the terminal device 100 allows the user to recognize the reception area by matching the width of the first input candidate with the width of the reception area, so that the user can easily select the first input candidate. An interface can be provided.

  Although illustration is omitted here, the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment can also allow the user to input characters other than the input candidates shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. For example, the first display control unit 132a of the terminal device 100 may display a first input candidate such as “small” for enabling the input of a muddy point, a semi-turbid point, a prompt sound, a roaring sound, and the like. The second display control unit 132b displays the second input candidates such as “”, “°”, and “small” when the first input candidate “small” is designated. Good. In this case, when the reception area corresponding to the second input candidate “′” is designated, the input determining unit 134 changes the character input immediately before to muddy sound and corresponds to the second input candidate “°”. When the reception area to be designated is changed, the character input immediately before is changed to semi-voiced sound, and when the reception area corresponding to the second input candidate “small” is specified, the character input immediately before Is changed to a semitone (sounding or stuttering).

  For example, when the second input candidate “” is designated after the character “ku” is input by the user, the input determination unit 134 changes the character “ku” to “gu”. Further, for example, when the character “ha” is input by the user and the second input candidate “°” is designated, the input determination unit 134 changes the character “ha” to “pa”. Also, for example, if the second input candidate “small” is designated after the user inputs the characters “tsu” and “a”, the input determination unit 134 changes the character “tsu” to “tsu”. Or change the character “A” to “A”.

  The terminal device 100 is not limited to the above example, and the terminal device 100 may accept a predetermined operation as an input operation such as a muddy point, a semi-turbid point, a prompt sound, or a roar. For example, the terminal device 100 accepts an operation of tapping twice on the display unit 110 (double tap) as an input operation of a muddy point, accepts an operation of tapping three times as an input operation of a semi-turbid point, An operation of drawing an arc on the unit 110 may be accepted as an input operation for prompting sound or stuttering. In addition, this example is merely an example, and the terminal device 100 may accept an operation other than the above example as an input operation of a muddy point, a semi-muddy point, a prompt sound, and a stuttering sound.

  In addition, the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment can cause the user to delete the input characters. For example, the first display control unit 132a of the terminal device 100 may display a first input candidate such as “Delete” for enabling deletion of an already input character. Here, the second display control unit 132b does not display the second input candidate when the first input candidate “cut” is designated. That is, when the reception area corresponding to the first input candidate “delete” is designated, the input determination unit 134 deletes the character input immediately before.

  Note that the terminal device 100 is not limited to the above example, and may accept a predetermined operation as a deletion operation. For example, the terminal device 100 may accept an operation of tapping twice on the display unit 110 (double tap) as a deletion operation, or an operation of drawing an arc on the display unit 110 as a deletion operation. This example is merely an example, and the terminal device 100 may accept an operation other than the above example as a deletion operation.

  In addition to the input interface shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the terminal device 100 may always display a display frame that accepts an input operation such as a cloud point or a display frame that accepts a character deletion operation at a specific position. Good. For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the terminal device 100 may always display each display frame that accepts an input operation such as a cloud point or a character deletion operation on the lower part of the screen.

[1-4. (Character input processing procedure)
Next, character input processing by the terminal device 100 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a character input processing procedure by the terminal device 100 according to the embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, the operation receiving unit 131 of the character input device determines whether an operation for designating an arbitrary position on the display unit 110 has been received from the user (step S <b> 101). If the operation reception unit 131 has not received an operation (step S101; No), the operation reception unit 131 waits until an operation is received.

  On the other hand, when the operation is accepted by the operation accepting unit 131 (step S101; Yes), the first display control unit 132a of the display control unit 132 surrounds an arbitrary position designated by the user with 50 sounds. The character corresponding to “Adan” is displayed as a first input candidate (step S102).

  In addition, the region setting unit 133 is displayed in a direction parallel or perpendicular to the screen display direction from an arbitrary position specified by the user among the plurality of first input candidates displayed by the first display control unit 132a. The first input candidates (“ka”, “sa”, “wa”) are different from the circumferential width of the reception area corresponding to the first input candidates (“a”, “ta”, “ma”, “wa”). ”,“ Ha ”,“ ya ”,“ ra ”,“,!? ”,“ (^^) ”), and the width of the reception area corresponding to the circumferential direction becomes wider. Set (step S103).

  In FIG. 4, the process in step S103 is performed after the process in step S102. However, the processes in step S102 and step S103 may be performed simultaneously.

  Subsequently, when any one of the reception areas corresponding to the first input candidate is designated (step S104; Yes), the second display control unit 132b takes the first input candidate around the designated first input candidate. The second input candidates narrowed down by one input candidate are displayed (step S105). For example, the second display control unit 132b sets the characters “Adan”, “Idan”, “Udan”, “Edan”, and “Odan” corresponding to the first input candidate designated by the user to the first. Display as 2 input candidates. At this time, the area setting unit 133 sets reception areas corresponding to a plurality of second input candidates whose display is controlled by the second display control unit 132b.

  Subsequently, when the reception area corresponding to the second input candidate is specified (step S106; Yes), the input determination unit 134 determines the second input candidate corresponding to the specified reception area as an input character ( Step S107). Then, the display control unit 132 displays the input character determined by the input determination unit 134 on the display unit 110 (step S108).

[1-5. effect〕
As described above, the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment includes the operation reception unit 131, the display control unit 132, the region setting unit 133, and the input determination unit 134. The operation reception unit 131 receives an operation for designating an arbitrary position from the user. The display control unit 132 displays a plurality of input candidates that are candidates for characters input by the user around the position received by the operation receiving unit 131. The area setting unit 133 has a circumferential width in at least one receiving area that is greater than a circumferential width in other receiving areas among the receiving areas for receiving designation of each input candidate displayed by the display control unit 132. Each reception area is set so as to be wide. When any of the reception areas set by the area setting unit 133 is specified by the user, the input determination unit 134 determines an input candidate corresponding to the specified reception area as an input character.

  Thereby, since the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment enables the input candidate to be specified by a sensuous operation by the user, the input accuracy of the user can be improved, and the display unit 110 is displayed to the user. Characters can be input without confirming. That is, the terminal device 100 can provide an input interface with high usability.

  In the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment, the display control unit 132 also includes a circumferential width in each display frame in which each input candidate is displayed, and a circumferential width in the reception area corresponding to the input candidate. Each display frame is displayed so that and match.

  Thereby, since the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment can make the user recognize the reception area, it is possible to provide an input interface that allows the user to easily select input candidates.

  In the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment, the display control unit 132 displays input candidates in the same direction as the screen display direction that is the direction in which the input characters are displayed on the terminal device 100. The region setting unit 133 corresponds to an input candidate displayed in a direction parallel or perpendicular to the screen display direction from an arbitrary position specified by the user among the plurality of input candidates displayed by the display control unit 132. Each reception area is set so that the circumferential width of the reception area corresponding to another input candidate is wider than the circumferential width of the reception area.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment narrows the width in the circumferential direction D1 of the reception area corresponding to the input candidate that is assumed to be easy to specify sensuously for the user. The input area corresponding to an input candidate that is assumed to be difficult to specify sensuously for the user is widened in the circumferential direction D1, and thus an input interface that allows an ordinary user to easily select an input candidate is provided. Can do.

  In the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment, the display control unit 132 includes a first display control unit 132a that displays a plurality of first input candidates around the position received by the operation receiving unit 131; When any one of the reception areas corresponding to the plurality of first input candidates displayed by the first display control unit 132a is designated, a plurality of narrowed down by the first input candidates corresponding to the designated reception area And a second display control unit 132b for displaying second input candidates. The area setting unit 133 also sets each of the reception areas corresponding to the first input candidate so that the width in the circumferential direction D1 in at least one reception area is wider than the width in the circumferential direction D1 in the other reception areas. Set the reception area. Further, the input determination unit 134 determines the second input candidate corresponding to the specified reception area as the input character when any of the reception areas corresponding to the plurality of second input candidates is specified by the user. .

  As described above, the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment can allow the user to select input characters from a large number of input candidates by causing the user to specify input candidates in two stages.

(Second Embodiment)
In the said 1st Embodiment, the magnitude | size (especially width of the circumferential direction) of the reception area was shown beforehand, and the example was shown. In the second embodiment, an example in which the size of the reception area is changed in accordance with the operation characteristics of the user will be described.

[2-1. Configuration of terminal device]
First, the terminal device 200 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the terminal device 200 according to the second embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal device 200 includes a storage unit 240 and an area setting unit 233 and an update unit 235 in the control unit 230.

  The storage unit 240 is realized by a storage device such as a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM or a flash memory. The storage unit 240 stores a deletion history that is a history of deletion of the input characters determined by the input determination unit 134 by the user.

  Here, FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the storage unit 240 according to the second embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the storage unit 240 includes items such as “deleted character” and “corrected character”. “Deleted character” indicates a deleted character among characters input by the user using the input interface shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. “Character after correction” indicates a character newly input immediately after “deleted character” is deleted by the user.

  That is, FIG. 6 shows an example in which after the user inputs the character “ROUTE”, the user deletes the character “ROUTE” and inputs the character “YOTE” again. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the user deletes the character “Shiaku” and inputs the character “Kitakaku” after inputting the character “Shiaku”.

  The updating unit 235 updates the storage unit 240 in response to a character input operation and a deletion operation by the user. Specifically, the update unit 235 determines that the re-input time from when the first character is input until the second character different from the first character is input after the first character is deleted is a predetermined time. The first character is stored in the “deleted character” of the storage unit 240, and the second character is stored in the “corrected character” of the storage unit 240.

  An example of processing by the updating unit 235 will be described. The update unit 235 receives the first character when the operation receiving unit 131 receives a deletion operation for deleting the first character after the input determining unit 134 determines the first character as the input character. It is determined whether or not the second character is newly input at the position. For example, the update unit 235 determines whether or not the second character is determined as the input character by the input determination unit 134. Then, when the second character is input again, the updating unit 235 re-input time from when the input determining unit 134 determines the first character as the input character until the second character is determined as the input character. It is determined whether or not the calculated re-input time is within a predetermined time. Then, the update unit 235 updates the storage unit 240 when the re-input time is within a predetermined time.

  The area setting unit 233 sets each reception area corresponding to the first input candidate based on the deletion history stored in the storage unit 240. Specifically, the area setting unit 233 compares the “deleted character” stored in the storage unit 240 with the “corrected character” to thereby determine the “erroneously input character” that is the character input by the user by mistake. And the “re-input character” input instead of the erroneous input character. Then, the area setting unit 233 adjoins the display frame of the first input candidate specified when inputting “wrong input character” and the display frame of the first input candidate specified when inputting “re-input character”. When displayed at the position, the first input candidate corresponding to the “re-input character” is reduced by narrowing the circumferential width in the reception area of the first input candidate corresponding to the “wrong input character”. The circumferential width of the reception area is increased.

  Here, an example of processing by the region setting unit 233 will be described with reference to FIG. In the example of FIG. 7, it is assumed that the storage unit 240 stores various types of information shown in FIG. First, the area setting unit 233 compares the deleted character “ROTE” stored in the storage unit 240 with the corrected character “YOTE”, thereby making the erroneous input character “RO” and the re-input character “YO”. Is identified. Here, a display frame of the first input candidate “ra” specified when the erroneously input character “RO” is input, and a display frame of the first input candidate “YA” specified when the re-input character “YO” is input. Are displayed at adjacent positions by the first display control unit 132a. For this reason, the region setting unit 233 determines that the first input candidate “ra” is erroneously specified when the user performs an operation of specifying the first input candidate “ya”. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the region setting unit 233 narrows the width in the circumferential direction D1 in the reception region R26 corresponding to the first input candidate “ra”, thereby receiving the reception corresponding to the first input candidate “ya”. The width in the circumferential direction D1 in the region R25 is increased.

  Similarly, the area setting unit 233 compares the deleted character “Shiaku” stored in the storage unit 240 with the corrected character “Kitakaku”, thereby making the erroneous input character “Shi” and the re-input character “Shiku”. Is specified. Then, the region setting unit 233 determines that the first input candidate “sa” is erroneously designated when the user performs an operation for designating the first input candidate “ka”, and sets the first input candidate “sa”. By narrowing the width in the circumferential direction D1 in the corresponding reception area R22, the width in the circumferential direction D1 in the reception area R21 corresponding to the first input candidate “ka” is widened.

[2-2. effect〕
As described above, the terminal device 200 according to the second embodiment can provide an input interface specialized for each user by controlling the size of the reception area according to the operation specification of each user. As a result, usability can be improved.

  In the second embodiment, the terminal device 200 may count the number of times that the user has made an input error for each combination of erroneously input characters and re-input characters. Then, the terminal device 200 increases the width of the reception area as the first input candidate having a larger number of input errors than a predetermined threshold, and increases the width of the reception area as the first input candidate having a smaller number of input errors than the predetermined threshold. It may be narrowed. Further, the terminal device 200 may count the number of such input errors every predetermined period. And the terminal device 200 may adjust the width | variety of a reception area | region based on the input error frequency in the last (for example, the last one week). That is, even when the width of the reception area is widened, the terminal device 200 may narrow the width of the widened reception area again when the number of user input errors in the reception area decreases.

  In the second embodiment, the storage unit 240 may store “erroneously input characters” and “re-input characters” instead of “deleted characters” and “corrected characters”. That is, in the example of FIG. 6, the storage unit 240 stores the combination of the erroneous input character “RO” and the re-input character “YO”, and the combination of the erroneous input character “SH” and the re-input character “KI”. Also good. In this case, as in the above example, the terminal device 200 may count the number of times that the user has made an input error for each combination of erroneously input characters and re-input characters, or count the number of input errors every predetermined period. May be.

(Other embodiments)
The terminal devices 100 and 200 according to the above-described embodiments may be implemented in various different forms other than the above-described embodiments. Therefore, in the following, other embodiments of the terminal devices 100 and 200 will be described. In the following, even when the other embodiment is described by taking the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment as an example, the other embodiment is not limited to the terminal device 200 according to the second embodiment. It can be similarly applied to.

[3-1. Conversion candidate)
In the above embodiment, when a Japanese kana character is input, the terminal device 100 may display conversion candidate characters such as kanji and katakana corresponding to the input kana character. At this time, the terminal device 100 replaces some characters of the input characters with the input candidate characters displayed in the vicinity of the some characters, and also displays the conversion candidate characters corresponding to the replaced characters. . For example, the terminal device 100 replaces some of the input characters with input candidate characters displayed adjacent to the partial characters, and also displays conversion candidate characters corresponding to the replaced characters.

  This point will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of conversion candidate characters by the terminal device 100 according to another embodiment. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the kana character “ROUTE” is input by the input interface shown in FIG. 1 or 3. Here, when an operation for displaying conversion candidate characters is performed by the user, the terminal device 100 displays “Kyoto” and “Journey” as conversion candidate characters for kanji and katakana corresponding to the kana character “ROTE”. , “Rotate” is displayed. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the terminal device 100 also converts the conversion candidate character “schedule” corresponding to “yote” in which the character “iro” is replaced with “yo” among the kana characters “rote”. indicate.

  The reason for processing as in the above example will be described. As described above, in general, it is easy for the user to move a finger from a position specified on the display unit 110 in a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the screen display direction, but to move the finger accurately in an oblique direction. Is considered difficult. Therefore, the user designates the first input candidate “YA” when inputting the character “YO” among the kana characters “YOTE”, but it is not possible to designate the first input candidate “YA”. It is relatively difficult, and there is a possibility that the first input candidate “ra” is erroneously designated. In this case, if the user continues the input operation without visually observing each display frame displayed on the display unit 110, there is a possibility that the user erroneously inputs “rote” instead of “good”. Therefore, the terminal device 100, as in the example of FIG. 8, converts the candidate character “RO”, which may be erroneously input, to the conversion candidate character “schedule” corresponding to “YOI” after the character “YO” is replaced. "Is also displayed.

  When the terminal device 100 performs the processing shown in FIG. 8, the character input from the position specified by the user via the first input candidate displayed in the direction parallel or perpendicular to the screen display direction. Is not likely to be input by mistake by the user, and may be excluded from the process of replacing characters. For example, the terminal device 100 displays the conversion candidate character “return home” of “Kitaku” when displaying the conversion candidate character of “kaku”, “saku”, but the conversion candidate character “prototype” of “shisaku”. May not be displayed. This is because the character “TA” is input via the first input candidate displayed in the direction perpendicular to the screen display direction, and thus is unlikely to be input by the user by mistake.

  Further, the terminal apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 8 may include the storage unit 240 illustrated in FIG. Then, when the same kana character as the “deleted character” stored in the storage unit 240 is input, the terminal device 100 displays the conversion candidate character “corrected character” corresponding to the “deleted character”. May be. Further, in this example, the terminal device 100 may count the number of times that the user has made an input error for each combination of an erroneously input character and a re-input character. Then, the terminal device 100 may display a conversion candidate character of “corrected character” when “deleted character” having an input error count greater than a predetermined threshold is input. In this example, the storage unit 240 may store “erroneously input characters” and “re-input characters” instead of “deleted characters” and “corrected characters”. Then, when the kana character including the “wrong input character” stored in the storage unit 240 is input, the terminal device 100 replaces the “re-entry character” corresponding to the “wrong input character”. Conversion candidate characters corresponding to kana characters may be displayed.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 can allow the user to select a conversion candidate character desired by the user even if the user inputs an incorrect character. As a result, since the terminal device 100 can reduce the number of times that the user performs the deletion operation, the usability can be improved.

[3-2. (Character input position)
Moreover, in the said embodiment, the terminal device 100 showed the example which receives a character input in the position of the cursor C10 like the example shown in FIG. However, the terminal device 100 may accept character input at a user-specified position accepted by the operation accepting unit 131.

  This point will be described with reference to FIG. Unlike the example of FIG. 1A, the terminal device 100 shown in FIG. 9A does not display the cursor C10 indicating the position where characters are input. Then, as illustrated in FIGS. 9A to 9C, the terminal device 100 accepts an operation for designating an arbitrary position P10 as in the examples of FIGS. ”Is accepted. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9D, the terminal device 100 displays the character “ku” at the position P10 designated by the user in FIG. 9A.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 can provide an input interface capable of inputting characters at an arbitrary position by accepting character input at a position designated by the user, so that usability can be improved. .

[3-3. Stage input)
Moreover, in the said embodiment, the example which a user inputs a Japanese kana character by designating a 1st input candidate and a 2nd input candidate in two steps was shown. However, the terminal device 100 described above is not limited to Japanese kana character input, and can also be applied to a case where a user designates predetermined input candidates (for example, 12 types of symbols) in one step.

  The terminal device 100 described above can also be applied to a case where the user designates input candidates in three or more stages. For example, when the first input candidate “ha” is designated and the second input candidate “hi” is designated, the terminal device 100 can select any of the third input candidates “decision”, “′”, and “°”. May be specified by the user. In this case, the terminal device 100 sets “ha” as an input character when the third input candidate “decision” is designated, and “b” when the third input candidate “” is designated. Input character.

[3-4. Input candidate display mode]
Moreover, in the said embodiment, the terminal device 100 may display each input candidate shown in FIG.1 and FIG.3 translucently. That is, the terminal device 100 may display each input candidate so that the input characters can be seen through. In addition, when the first input candidate is designated, the terminal device 100 may display the second input candidate by superimposing it on the displayed first input candidate.

  Moreover, although the terminal device 100 showed the example which displays an input candidate in the perimeter of the position designated by the user in the said embodiment, only the one part area | region among the circumference | surroundings of the position designated by the user was shown. Input candidates may be displayed.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the terminal device 100 according to the above embodiment continues to display the first input candidates unless the finger is released from the display surface, and further, the first input is performed without releasing the finger from the display surface. When a candidate is designated, the second input candidate may be continuously displayed unless the finger is removed from the display surface. Alternatively, even if the terminal device 100 displays the first input candidate and then releases the finger from the display surface, the terminal device 100 selects the first input candidate unless an area other than the reception area corresponding to the first input candidate is designated. In the same manner, even when the second input candidate is displayed and the finger is removed from the display surface, the second input candidate is displayed unless an area other than the reception area corresponding to the second input candidate is designated. You may make it continue displaying.

[3-5. Others]
In addition, among the processes described in the above embodiment, all or part of the processes described as being automatically performed can be performed manually, or the processes described as being performed manually can be performed. All or a part can be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, the processing procedures, specific names, and information including various data and parameters shown in the document and drawings can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified. For example, the various types of information illustrated in each drawing is not limited to the illustrated information.

  For example, FIG. 1, FIG. 3 and FIG. 7 show an example in which the emoticon “(^^)” is displayed as the first input candidate, but the terminal device 100 uses the emoticon “(^^)” as the first input candidate. It may not be included in one input candidate. Further, the terminal device 100 may accept an input of a symbol such as “+” as a character other than the examples illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, and 7. For example, when the first input candidate “symbol” is designated, the terminal device 100 may display symbols such as the first input candidate “+”, “−”, “%”, and the like.

  Further, each component of each illustrated apparatus is functionally conceptual, and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed or arbitrarily distributed in arbitrary units according to various loads or usage conditions. Can be integrated and configured. For example, in the above embodiment, the region setting unit 133 and the input determination unit 134 may be integrated.

  As described above, some of the embodiments of the present application have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, these are merely examples, and various modifications, including the aspects described in the disclosure section of the invention, based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, It is possible to implement the present invention in other forms with improvements.

  Further, the “means” described in the claims can be read as “section (module, unit)” or “circuit”. For example, the operation accepting unit can be read as an operation accepting unit or an operation accepting circuit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Terminal device 130 Control part 131 Operation reception part 132 Display control part 132a 1st display control part 132b 2nd display control part 133 Area | region setting part 134 Input determination part

Claims (9)

Operation accepting means for accepting an operation for designating an arbitrary position from the user;
Display control means for displaying a plurality of input candidates that are candidates for characters inputted by the user around the position received by the operation receiving means;
Of each reception area for receiving the designation of each input candidate displayed by the display control means, the circumferential width in at least one reception area is wider than the circumferential width in the other reception areas, Area setting means for setting each reception area;
An input determination unit that determines an input candidate corresponding to the specified reception area as an input character when any of the reception areas set by the area setting unit is specified by the user ;
Storage means for storing history information regarding deletion or correction of input characters determined by the input determination means,
The display control means includes
Of the input characters determined by the input determining means based on the history information stored in the storage means, the characters corresponding to the other receiving areas are not replaced with other characters, and the at least one receiving area Displays the conversion candidate character in the input character after the character corresponding to is replaced with the character that has been corrected in the past
Terminal device comprising a call. The display control means includes
The display frames are displayed so that a circumferential width in each display frame in which each input candidate is displayed matches a circumferential width in a reception area corresponding to the input candidate. Item 2. The terminal device according to Item 1. The display control means includes
Displaying the input candidates in the same direction as the screen display direction in which the input characters are displayed in the terminal device;
The area setting means includes
Among the plurality of input candidates displayed by the display control means, other than the circumferential width of the reception area corresponding to the input candidate displayed in the direction parallel or perpendicular to the screen display direction from the arbitrary position The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein each of the reception areas is set so that a width in a circumferential direction of the reception area corresponding to the input candidate is widened. Before Symbol area setting means,
Based on the deletion history stored in the storage means, an input candidate having a larger number of input errors than a predetermined threshold is made wider in the receiving area, and an input candidate having a smaller number of input errors than a predetermined threshold is received in the receiving area. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is narrowed. The display control means includes
Displayed as conversion candidate characters of the input character determined by the input determination means are character conversion candidate characters after replacing some of the input characters with input candidates displayed in the vicinity of the part of the characters The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein: The input determining means includes
The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the input character is determined as a character input at an arbitrary position received by the operation receiving unit. The display control means includes
First display control means for displaying a plurality of first input candidates around the arbitrary position;
When any one of the first reception areas corresponding to the plurality of first input candidates displayed by the first display control means is specified, the first input candidate corresponding to the specified first reception area Second display control means for displaying a plurality of second input candidates to be narrowed down,
The area setting means includes
Of each of the first reception areas, each of the first reception areas is set such that the circumferential width of at least one first reception area is wider than the circumferential width of the other first reception areas.
The input determining means includes
When any one of the second reception areas corresponding to the plurality of second input candidates is designated by the user, the second input candidate corresponding to the designated second reception area is determined as an input character. The terminal device as described in any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. A character input method executed by a terminal device,
An operation accepting step for accepting an operation for designating an arbitrary position from the user;
A display control step of displaying a plurality of input candidates that are candidates for characters input by the user around the position received by the operation receiving step;
Among each reception area for receiving the designation of each input candidate displayed by the display control step, the circumferential width in at least one reception area is wider than the circumferential width in the other reception areas, An area setting step for setting the reception areas;
An input determination step of determining, as an input character, an input candidate corresponding to the specified reception area when any of the reception areas set by the area setting step is specified by the user ;
A storage step of storing history information regarding deletion or correction of the input character determined by the input determination step;
Based on the history information stored in the storage step, among the input characters determined in the input determination step, the characters corresponding to the other reception areas are not replaced with other characters, and the at least one reception area A character input method comprising: the display control step of displaying a conversion candidate character in an input character after the corresponding character is replaced with a character that has been corrected in the past . An operation acceptance procedure for accepting an operation for designating an arbitrary position from the user;
A display control procedure for displaying a plurality of input candidates that are candidates for characters input by the user around the position received by the operation receiving procedure;
Among each reception area for receiving designation of each input candidate displayed by the display control procedure, the circumferential width in at least one reception area is wider than the circumferential width in the other reception areas, An area setting procedure for setting each reception area;
An input determination procedure for determining, as an input character, an input candidate corresponding to the specified reception area when any of the reception areas set by the area setting procedure is specified by the user ;
A storage procedure for storing history information related to deletion or correction of input characters determined by the input determination procedure;
Based on the history information stored by the storage procedure, among the input characters determined by the input determination procedure, the character corresponding to the other reception area is not replaced with another character, and the at least one reception area A character input program that causes a computer to execute the display control procedure for displaying a conversion candidate character in an input character after replacing the corresponding character with a character that has been corrected in the past .

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